Alabama had to work through a sluggish opening stretch, but once the Crimson Tide found their rhythm, the game tilted hard in their direction. Nate Oats’ team fell behind by eight and managed only 12 points in the first nine minutes, yet a late first-half burst flipped everything. Alabama closed the half on a 21-4 run over the final four minutes, including a 14-0 spurt to end the period, and turned a tied game at 30 into a 51-34 lead.
Back-to-back threes from Amari Allen and a buzzer-beating three from Drew Fielder finished off the surge. From there, Alabama never really let Arkansas State back into the picture, even if the Red Wolves kept fighting enough to make the final margin look respectable. The Crimson Tide rolled to a 101-84 win and moved to 2-0.
Allen was the headliner, and he did it in the kind of way that can take over a box score without much warning. He started slowly and looked a little heavy on the offensive end, then suddenly had 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists at halftime.
By the end of the night, he had 16 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, giving Alabama the fifth triple-double in program history. He joins Roy Rogers, who had two in seven days back in 1996, along with Kira Lewis in 2020 and Aaron Estrada in 2024.
There was a scare late when Allen turned his ankle in the second half. Coleman Coliseum held its breath as he was helped to the bench, but he was walking fine afterward and all smiles once the game ended.
Alabama’s shooting numbers weren’t pretty. The Tide hit just 36% from the floor and 30% from three, which could have made for a much tougher night.
Instead, they bludgeoned Arkansas State on the glass and turned extra possessions into points. Alabama finished plus-12 on rebounds and grabbed 25 offensive boards.
The frontcourt did a lot of the heavy lifting. Brandon Garrison, Drew Fielder, Jamarion Davis-Fleming and Keitenn Bristow combined for 31 of Alabama’s 58 rebounds, backing up what Fielder had talked about after the win over Sam Houston.
Garrison posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Fielder added 16 points and five rebounds.
Davis-Fleming finished with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals. Bristow chipped in 7 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
Not everything was clicking, though. Cole Cloer is stuck in a rough patch after looking sharp in the two exhibition games he appeared in.
After missing the Auburn exhibition with an injury, he has opened the regular season with back-to-back struggles: 2 points on 1-of-9 shooting against Sam Houston and 3 points on 1-of-7 shooting in 21 minutes against Arkansas State. He has looked out of sync, forcing shots and not quite settling into the offense the way he did against Furman and Ole Miss.
Anderson Diaz is still very much in the learning phase. The reclassified freshman guard was scoreless in 10 minutes and committed four turnovers.
That’s not especially surprising given where he is in his development - he should still be a senior in high school right now, and he missed a lot of practice time this fall because of an elbow injury. With Aden Holloway set to return Monday against Oakland, minutes are going to be hard to find for Diaz until the game slows down for him.
That Holloway return is the next big development for Alabama’s offense. His suspension is over, and he’ll be back for Monday’s home game against Oakland, giving him three games to get back into the flow before Alabama heads to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival.
Even without him, the Tide have scored 197 points in two games. With one of the country’s most efficient offensive players back in the mix, the ceiling gets even higher.
Holloway averaged 16.8 points per game last season on 48/44/86 shooting splits as a junior, and Alabama has already looked dangerous without him.
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Even with the shot not falling the way Alabama would have liked, the rebounding edge gave the Tide a cushion and a clear early sign of progress in an area Oats has been pushing for months. It was also notable because Alabama did it without its best offensive rebounder, Jaxon Richardson, which only adds another layer to what the team may be capable of once that part of the rotation is fully in place. [Read more 🡒]
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The broader slate features other Heisman hopefuls such as Jeremiah Smith, Kenny Minchey, Sam Leavitt, Trinidad Chambliss, Gunner Stockton, Devon Dampier and Bear Bachmeier, turning the weekend into a referendum on momentum as much as talent. For collectors, the stakes are tied to more than wins and losses, since player performances can move card values quickly, and the mix of licensed and unlicensed cards adds another layer to how these names are being chased. [Read more 🡒]